Covert Mastery
by NCR Ranger
Summary: What else are SEALs, if not masters of keeping things off the radar ?


US Navy SEAL Team Bravo

Cargo bay of a C-17 Globemaster

En route to Azerbaijan

Local clock: 0850

* * *

" Good mornin', Ensign ! Ma'am. "

Sonny came to a decent(ish) postion of attention, as he stopped in front of the officer in question, who was seated with impeccable posture at the rear of the cavernous bay.

The Texan rendered a crisp salute. " Permission to speak, ma'am. "

With a bemused expression, Lisa looked up at him ( which she would've had to do anyway even if she wasn't sitting; she wasn't tall, and Sonny was ). "_ Granted_, Petty Officer. God, you are too formal. I appeiciate the respect, but you're laying it on a bit thick. "

" Its pronounced ' _thicc_ ', ma'am. And only in reference to good looking ladies. "

" You are incorrigible. " , Lisa shook her brunette head. " Did you leave your buddies _only_ to interrupt my breakfast ? MRE's are barely tolerable as it is. "

Having left their lush accomidations in Belgrade, the team was now winging their way to their next AO. Being in transit, the only food available was the culinary masterpieces known as Meals Ready to Eats. The SEALed packets of " food " _more or less_ got the job done when it came to providing vital nutrients to those working a high energy requirement job like Special Ops, they were lacking when it came to everything else regarding food.

As in, taste, appeal, appearance that actually made you want to eat them. The humble basics, in other words.

Sonny knew that feeling all too well. That Lisa had been an enlisted once herself before climbing the ladder meant she wouldn't forget what it was like to live like one, now that she could kick back at O-Clubs.

Of course, that was neither here nor there. For now, it was riding in the rear of a Globemaster, thousands of feet up in the sky, rocketing over west Asia at over 200 mph, heading for more trouble. And _that_ meant MRE's for morning chow.

_Hooray._

" You call _this_ breakfast ? ", Sonny chuckled, gesturing to the tan colored package in Lisa's lap, already opened with its contents poking out. " Kind of a step down from the namby pamby cuisine they were feeding you at OCS, eh ? "

Lisa raised her brows at that. " Sonny, my ears are _still_ ringing from all the sceaming the DIs unleashed at us. The food wasn't much better. "

" Ha ! ", Sonny smirked. " Judgin' from that description, you might as well have gone through the SEAL pipeline ! "

" That's a man's job. Micromanaging all the intel said men need to run their field ops ? That's where_ I_ come in. "

That was certainly true. Officer or not, Lisa Davis was good at playing conductor, so to speak. Sonny always felt good going to action with the knowledge that she had some eyes in the sky for them- and maybe a quick evac if things went south. Which wasn't often, thankfully.

" Yeah, men and women got their own strengths, that's for sure. " Sonny agreed, hooking his thumbs into his pocket tops. He looked down at the MRE again.

" So, what exactly _is_ that slop ? "

With a resigned sigh, Lisa replied " Corn and pasta, I _think._ Oh, and they threw in some " fruit" pudding, of _some_ kind. "

" Mmmm, _mm_ ! Exactly as my momma used to make. "

" If _this_ is how your momma cooks, Sonny, I am not having dinner at your family. "

The Texan wanted to laugh out loud at that, but he couldn't neglect the fact that they weren't alone. The rest of Bravo was on this plane too, and not all of them were asleep. Blackburn was- or so it appeared, anyway; it was hard to tell when someone had a cap over their face-, but Ray was clearly awake, as was Clay and Jace.

The first two were engaged in a bout of rock-paper-scisscors, while Jace was pensively studying some kind of reading material. Basically, they were all otherwise busy, but even so, Sonny didn't want to attract attention.

So instead, he raised his own brows the way Lisa had, and fixed her with a faux-offended look. " That's not very nice. I was even about to ask if I could try some of that tasty chow, too. "

" You _want_ some of this ? No, really, _you want some of this_ ?! ", the freshly christened officer asked.

" Well, isn't that what, you know, men and women do ? When they love each other, I mean. They put go for things they wouldn't otherwise. "

He felt his pulse quicken as he said it, along with a strange sensation of being, well, _content_. For some reason, being around and talking to this beautiful woman ( who was technically his superior, yes ) always made him feel that way. Especially these days, what with her being an _officer_, and thus making their entire relationship _considerably_ against the regs.

That actually made things even more interesting, though. To_ some_ level, at least. It was weird; Sonny was trying to cultivate this " Man of action " pesona among his peers. What would happen if they found out about this ?

_Can't say I shouldn't worry._

It was impossible not to- but that didn't matter as much as how much he loved the former Yeoman. He was crazy about Lisa, and he didn't need to list why. It was all pretty much second nature by now:

_Hot. Smart. Really good at her job. Maybe I like her more than I thought I did. _

And, predictably, said attractive, smart, and capable woman immidiately responded to his kind offer:

" You _sure_ ? "

By way of answering, Sonny simply seated himself beside her, bracing his forearms across his knees and lacing his fingers.

" Wow. You're commited. ", Lisa smiled.

Sonny shrugged. " Hey, it got me this far. "

" Far in what, exactly ? "

" Well, I attained the mantle of becoming a SEAL, for one, you know. _And_, even better- "

He leaned toward her then, beckoning her to do the same, as if to share something at a whisper.

Mildly confused, Lisa nonetheless mirrored his lean-

\- and promptly received a kiss on the mouth.

" Mmpf ! ", came her muffled gasp.

Soony was grinning like the cat that caught the canary. " Ha ! Gotcha, girl. "

" You- Sonny ! ", the surprised officer exclaimed in a stage whisper, smacking his arm. " What if someone saw that ?! "

" Oh, no need to worry. I was watchin' the others. Relax, they're not paying us any mind. "

As much as she was feeling warm on the inside, Lisa nontheless quickly took a look herself, half expecting to see heads turned their way-

\- but no. Nobody had moved.

Nobody had noticed. Actually, they seemed fairly far away.

_Still a huge risk, though !_

_" Sonny, _I- ", she slowly looked back at him.

" Here's not the place, ok babe ? I am sorry, but the risk is too high. Not _here_. "

" I know, I _know_. ", the Texan sighed, pushing his ball cap back a bit, shurgging.

Then he grinned again. " _Had_ to at _least_ once, though. You're worth it, Davis. You're worth it. "

That _touched_ her. Lisa now felt warmth around her cheeks, like a high school girl.

An officer she may be, but a woman too.

One who had quite a guy_ very_ much interested in her. And vice versa.

_We can chance _one_ more. Its not like the stairwell was top secret, either !_

" Such a gentleman " ", she murmured, leaning back in to quickly kiss him back.

" And you're the officer ", Sonny replied, that cocky grin of his not fading at all.

Lisa didn't care if he wanted to be all smug. He'd earned it.

And neither of them noticed that the MRE had gone cold long ago.


End file.
